Coverage and Payments
When Coverage Ends
Your coverage will continue uninterrupted as long as contributions are deducted from your paycheck. After four consecutive weeks of no pay, benefits are terminated and a COBRA packet will be sent for COBRA-eligible benefits.
Your benefits coverage will end on the earliest of:
- The date you’re no longer eligible for benefits
- The first day for which no benefits premium has been paid*
- The date the group policy terminates
Your dependents’ benefits coverage will end on the earliest of:
- The date your benefits coverage terminates
- The first day for which no benefits premium has been paid for your dependent
- The date the coverage for dependents is terminated under the group policy
- The date your dependent ceases to be a dependent as defined in the policy
*Coverage in the High-Deductible Medical Plan will end at the end of the month after four consecutive weeks of no pay.
Paying for Your Benefits
Premiums for all elected benefits are deducted from your paycheck each week; however, how the premium is applied and when your coverage is effective vary by plan.
Deductions from your paycheck for the High-Deductible Medical Plan, Preventive Care Plus Plan, Kaiser Hawaii, HMSA, Dental and Vision are taken on a pre-tax basis. Deductions from your paycheck for the Group Hospital Indemnity Plans, Short-Term Disability, Life and AD&D and Critical Illness & Accident are taken on an after-tax basis.
For All Plans Except the High-Deductible Medical Plan, Kaiser Hawaii and HMSA:
Coverage:
- Coverage is provided weekly, with benefit periods running Monday through Sunday.
- Deductions are taken from your paycheck for each elected benefit, and coverage is effective the Monday of the week you receive your first paycheck with benefit deductions.
- Your coverage will continue uninterrupted as long as deductions for all of your benefits are taken from your paycheck each week.
If you receive a paycheck without any deductions or with deductions for only some of your benefits, coverage for any benefit without a deduction is suspended. Coverage remains suspended for any benefit without a deduction until the Monday of the week you receive a paycheck with a deduction for that benefit. To avoid having coverage suspended, you must make a missed premium payment directly to The American Worker every time a deduction is not taken from your paycheck.
Making up missed premium payments allows you to maintain coverage when you do not have any deductions or only have deductions for some of your benefits. You have four weeks from the date your paycheck has no deduction to make a payment. If you do not pay for a missed deduction within four weeks, you will not be able to pay for it at a later date, and you will not have coverage.
For example, if you are enrolled in Dental and Vision and receive a paycheck with only a Dental deduction (and no Vision deduction), you will have Dental coverage for the week in which the deduction was taken. However, your Vision coverage will be suspended for the week in which the deduction was NOT taken. If you want Vision coverage for that week, you must pay your Vision premium directly to The American Worker within four weeks of the date you received the paycheck without a Vision deduction.
Missed Deductions:
- You can pay for missed deductions online, by phone or by mail using an electronic or personal check, credit or debit card or money order.
- You can make a one-time payment or set up automatic payments that will be processed when a benefit deduction is not taken from your paycheck.
If you previously set up automatic payments, you are responsible for contacting The American Worker to discontinue this arrangement. If you do not, your account will continue to be charged (for up to four weeks) and you will not receive a refund.
If you have NO payroll deductions for four consecutive weeks, your coverage will be automatically terminated back to the end of the last benefit period (Sunday) for which a premium was paid.
For the High-Deductible Medical Plan, Kaiser Hawaii and HMSA ONLY:
Coverage is provided monthly from the first through the last day of the month; however, deductions are taken weekly.
To prevent a lapse in coverage, you can make up to four direct payments to Robert Half while not on assignment. If you receive a paycheck without a deduction, you are required to make a missed premium payment. To learn how, contact Robert Half at 1.855.744.6947 or benefits@roberthalf.com.
Benefits Reinstatement
If you stop working for Robert Half, and stop receiving a paycheck, your benefits will end after four consecutive weeks of no pay, as stated in the “When Coverage Ends” section. If you start working for Robert Half again after four consecutive weeks of no pay, a new enrollment window will be opened for you and you will be able to elect coverage as a new hire subject to any eligibility requirements. You will not be automatically re-enrolled in coverage. You must actively make an election if you would like coverage.
COBRA Continuation Coverage
The Preventive Care Plus Plan, High-Deductible Medical Plan, Group Hospital Indemnity Plans, Dental, Vision, Kaiser Hawaii, HMSA and San Francisco Health Plan are subject to federal COBRA continuation requirements. In general, this allows you to continue your insurance under the group policy for 18 months after you cease to be an active contract professional (i.e., four weeks after you stop working for Robert Half). If your dependent would lose coverage due to your death or divorce, or because he or she reaches the eligible dependent age limit, his or her coverage may be continued for up to 36 months.
If you haven’t been paid by Robert Half for a period of four consecutive weeks, your coverage will be terminated, and you will be offered COBRA continuation, retroactive to the last day for which your premium has been paid. For information about COBRA continuation, contact The American Worker at 1.855.495.1192.